Duck River Books Columbia Tennessee 2025

I've mentioned it before, but I really love Duck River Books in Columbia Tennessee.

The Fashion Mall at Keystone Indiana at Christmas 2025

We made our annual visit to the Fashion Mall at Keystone, pretty much in Indianapolis Indiana!  They have a great mall Santa, and the place is always festive at Christmas!!!!

The Glitz at Irish Acres Nonesuch Kentucky

Shop for antiques and have a great meal at the Glitz at Irish Acres!

Keystone Fashion Mall Dec 2024

I have brought up the Keystone Mall in Indiana many times....  especially at Christmas.  This is probably my favorite mall anywhere!

Factory 52 Norwood Ohio 2023

An old playing card factory is being transformed into a very cool mixed purpose destination near Cincinnati!  

Harwood Gold Cafe Charlevoix MI

I wanted to take a moment to mention Harwood Gold Cafe in Charlevoix Michigan.  

We were in the area just ahead of the start of their "season".  Several shops were still not open while we were there.   Luckily, this place was.

We intended to swing by and just enjoy a couple of drinks early one morning...  which we did.  They had some really nice coffee.

AND, they are a great gift shop too.  They had a lot of unique items, and their prices were pretty good too, so we ended up picking up several gifts to bring back home for friends....  And we got a few cool things for ourselves.

 

Halloween This Year

 

I love Halloween, every year.  I look forward to it, and I kinda start my Halloween season sometime in July.

Actually, I enjoy ghost stories, spooky movies, and folk legends all year long.  It just kind of amps up the months leading to the end of October.

I enjoy going in to stores and seeing the displays (see photos).  If you are like me and grew up...  well, decades ago....  you probably remember older displays.  I remember a lot more witches and werewolves in years past.  I really miss seeing all of the old cheap masks that had the rubber bands in the back.  When I was a kid, they had those everywhere.  Hundreds at K-Mart and grocery stores.

I did notice, at a Wal Mart this year, that they had a few masks like that.  Not the huge selection from 30+ years ago, but a few.  

I wanted to make a point to really soak in all of Halloween that I could this year.  I wanted to make sure every weekend and week night was full of seasonal festivities.

Unfortunately, I had some flu/cold stuff going on that knocked me down for a couple of weeks.  Still, we did a lot!

In fact, we squeezed in a couple of things that I really enjoyed, and hope to make a tradition.

In Chillicothe Ohio, we got to see a great production of a play involving the Frankenstein Monster.

The play was great, and a haunted trail was put on after the performance that was brilliant.  It was put on by the same people that do "Tecumseh!" which we also saw for the first time earlier this year.  We loved that production too.

At the end of October, we went to Adams Tennessee for the Bell Witch Fall Festival.  We have been to Adams many times, but this was our first time there in October for this event.

Adams is ground zero when it comes to the legend of the Bell Witch.  The town has a cave, a cemetery, and other sites to see relating to the ghost that, according to legend, tortured a family in the late 1810s and later.

AND, they have a festival leading up to Halloween.  The first night of the festival is devoted to story telling.  The next few weekends, they have a musical "Smoke" about the tobacco wars in the area, and the famous Night Riders.  The next weekends are devoted to showing the play "Spirit" which covers the Bell Witch legend.

A repeated theme/line from the play is "at this place, on this ground."  They also have signs up with the phrase.  The line really adds to the authentic spook factor, as the play and festival are performed on land once owned by John Bell.  The old home, cemetery and cave are all really just short walks away from the outdoor theater where the play is shown.

I hope to make it back to Chillicothe next year for whatever spooky production they do, and I want to get back to Adams for their Bell Witch Fall Festival.  

Towne Square Mall Owensboro looking back 2023

Earlier this year I stopped by the Owensboro Towne Square Mall as it looked like the end was near for the place.  I got a some video and hoped to get back again, but it simply did not happen.  It looks like the mall as we knew it from 1978-2023 is no more.  They are going to redo it and make it something different as far as I can tell....  So, here is a little video with some pictures I have taken over the last decade of the place.

The Glitz at Irish Acres Versailles Kentucky 2023

If you were to ask me where you should go in Kentucky to celebrate a special occasion, or just to enjoy an incredible meal......  I would tell you to go to the Glitz at Irish Acres.

Seriously, this is a favorite among my friends.

Ben Franklin Crafts Bethel Ohio May 2023

We came across a wonderful Ben Franklin store in Southern Ohio!  

Robson Street Vancouver British Columbia 2022

We spent some time exploring the very happening Robson Street in Vancouver British Columbia!

Granville Island Vancouver British Columbia 2022

Granville Island was a definite highlight of our visit to Vancouver.  It was a very nice place for us to spend a day.

Miller's Bakery and Furniture in West Union Ohio

Part of the fun of visiting an Amish area is stopping by the stores.  They have cool stuff for sure!

AND, have a meal there, or get a nice snack.

We stopped by Miller's Bakery and Furniture in West Union.  I had a great pretzel.  OK, I had 2 great pretzels.

Cocaine Bear at the Kentucky Fun Mall Lexington KY

I know the Cocaine Bear movie is coming out.....  so I stopped by Kentucky for Kentucky in Lexington to see the inspiration for the new film!

Sweet Read Books and Coffee in Woodstock Georgia

 

The Sweet Rad in Woodstock Georgia is a coffee/bookstore, making it one of my favorite places on Earth.  VERY cool shop with cozy places to sit, and look through a potential book purchase as you sip coffee!

I had several good finds here too.  I cant wait to get back!

Nashville Indiana November 2022

 We FINALLY made it to Nashville Indiana!  This might be my new favorite little town!  Check out my youtube video from our visit!

Fashion Mall at Keystone at Christmas 2022

 Its Christmas time!  We always try to get some Christmas shopping in at the Fashion Mall at Keystone in Indianapolis!

Georgetown, Kentucky -August 2022

 I have known about

Georgetown for some time, but I feel like I have just recently REALLY discovered this great town near Lexington!

A friend turned me on to the great antique mall downtown, and I have recently found a great restaurant, and dessert place!

AND, the town shows a lot of local pride in their community museum!

Scheels Sporting Goods Springfield Illinois May 2022

 

Scheel's in Springfield is easily one of the most fun places I have shopped at recently!  There is a Ferris wheel AND animatronic Presidents!

Pigeon Forge Tennessee June 2022

 

And there are a ton of Pigeon Forge Tennessee videos out there too, but I love the place and I am sure I will continue putting more up.........